\"There is a belief known as the 'college experience;' an experience that some understand as a right of passage. This notion continues to be passed from generation to generation; what happens without our noticing is that the demands of that 'college experience' are changing. Survey results indicate that this 'experience' continues to perpetuate, that college students have skewed perceptions of vulnerabilities and are willing to take unhealthy risks, all as part of the 'college experience.' Through a mixed methods approach, this research demonstrates that advances in remedial health education are positively affecting students 'abilities' to \"gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health'' (World Health Organization, as cited in Nutbeam, 2000, p.264 and Ratzan, 2000, p. 210). This research also identifies the disparity between having the 'ability' and having the 'motivation' to mitigate risk. This research further substantiates an exigent need for a holistic approach to improving health literacy, and designing health messages for improving health behaviors at Eastern Washington University\"--Document.
","abstract_html":"<p>"There is a belief known as the 'college experience;' an experience that some understand as a right of passage. This notion continues to be passed from generation to generation; what happens without our noticing is that the demands of that 'college experience' are changing. Survey results indicate that this 'experience' continues to perpetuate, that college students have skewed perceptions of vulnerabilities and are willing to take unhealthy risks, all as part of the 'college experience.' Through a mixed methods approach, this research demonstrates that advances in remedial health education are positively affecting students 'abilities' to "gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health'' (World Health Organization, as cited in Nutbeam, 2000, p.264 and Ratzan, 2000, p. 210). This research also identifies the disparity between having the 'ability' and having the 'motivation' to mitigate risk. This research further substantiates an exigent need for a holistic approach to improving health literacy, and designing health messages for improving health behaviors at Eastern Washington University"--Document.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ridnour, Nicole L."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS) in Communications","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Communication Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:13:00Z","subjects":["Eastern Washington University--Students--Health and hygiene--Evaluation","Eastern Washington University--Students--Attitudes.College students--Health--Washington (State)--Cheney","Health behavior--Washington (State)--Cheney--Evaluation","Health attitudes--Washington (State)--Cheney","Universities and colleges--Health promotion services--Washington (State)--Cheney--Evaluation","Communication"],"languages":[],"rights":["Access is available to all users"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/180","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ridnour, Nicole L."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Communication Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS) in Communications"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Eastern Washington University--Students--Health and hygiene--Evaluation","Eastern Washington University--Students--Attitudes.College students--Health--Washington (State)--Cheney","Health behavior--Washington (State)--Cheney--Evaluation","Health attitudes--Washington (State)--Cheney","Universities and colleges--Health promotion services--Washington (State)--Cheney--Evaluation","Communication"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Access is available to all users"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/180"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["\"There is a belief known as the 'college experience;' an experience that some understand as a right of passage. This notion continues to be passed from generation to generation; what happens without our noticing is that the demands of that 'college experience' are changing. Survey results indicate that this 'experience' continues to perpetuate, that college students have skewed perceptions of vulnerabilities and are willing to take unhealthy risks, all as part of the 'college experience.' Through a mixed methods approach, this research demonstrates that advances in remedial health education are positively affecting students 'abilities' to \"gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health'' (World Health Organization, as cited in Nutbeam, 2000, p.264 and Ratzan, 2000, p. 210). This research also identifies the disparity between having the 'ability' and having the 'motivation' to mitigate risk. This research further substantiates an exigent need for a holistic approach to improving health literacy, and designing health messages for improving health behaviors at Eastern Washington University\"--Document.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Transcending the status quo: a communication perspective for improving health behaviors at Eastern Washington University"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:creator":["Ridnour, Nicole L."],"dc:description.abstract":["\"There is a belief known as the 'college experience;' an experience that some understand as a right of passage. This notion continues to be passed from generation to generation; what happens without our noticing is that the demands of that 'college experience' are changing. Survey results indicate that this 'experience' continues to perpetuate, that college students have skewed perceptions of vulnerabilities and are willing to take unhealthy risks, all as part of the 'college experience.' Through a mixed methods approach, this research demonstrates that advances in remedial health education are positively affecting students 'abilities' to \"gain access to, understand and use information in ways which promote and maintain good health'' (World Health Organization, as cited in Nutbeam, 2000, p.264 and Ratzan, 2000, p. 210). This research also identifies the disparity between having the 'ability' and having the 'motivation' to mitigate risk. This research further substantiates an exigent need for a holistic approach to improving health literacy, and designing health messages for improving health behaviors at Eastern Washington University\"--Document.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/180"],"dc:rights":["Access is available to all users"],"dc:subject":["Eastern Washington University--Students--Health and hygiene--Evaluation","Eastern Washington University--Students--Attitudes.College students--Health--Washington (State)--Cheney","Health behavior--Washington (State)--Cheney--Evaluation","Health attitudes--Washington (State)--Cheney","Universities and colleges--Health promotion services--Washington (State)--Cheney--Evaluation","Communication"],"dc:title":["Transcending the status quo: a communication perspective for improving health behaviors at Eastern Washington University"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Communication Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS) in Communications"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:13:00Z"}